Gamin
by Guylene
Summary: After someone tried to shoot them, Thian and Pastor share a moment in the hospital. Inspired by the book "the fairy gunmother" by Daniel Pennac. ("Gamin" means "little one").


**Hi guys! This is a short dialogue inspired by the book "The fairy gunmother" by Daniel Pennac. The two policemen Thian and Pastor have just survived an assassination attempt while working on a case and they share a talk at the hospital… review pleeeeeease!**

**Disclaimer**: sadly I don't own "the fairy gunmother", its characters or any book written by Daniel Pennac!

They were at the hospital. Pastor's hand had been cleaned and bandaged and Thian's shoulder was examined: apparently it had been just a superficial wound. Anyway the doctors had decided to have a radiographic exam just for safety and now they were in a room, alone, waiting for the results and drinking coffee.

Pastor was thinking. He knew who had tried to kill them and why. He would've had to pay a visit to…

_My parents were killed and Thian was almost killed too today. I was going to loose him as well._

The thought entered his mind so abruptly that he didn't even have the time to control himself and his face visibly saddened.

"Joke?" asked Thian.

"No, thank you. I'll be fine soon." Pastor answered mechanically.

"What's up, gamin?" Thian asked with a worried voice.

Pastor was surprised: Thian usually tried to give some comfort without actually asking questions and the younger inspector appreciated very much his colleague's discretion.

Pastor hesitated.

"Gamin?" Thian asked very gently.

Pastor took a deep breath: "Do you know why I was so shocked in Julie Corrençon's flat?"

"No."

"Well. My parents were murdered during an attempted… well, robbery" the younger inspector enunciated quietly.

With a shiver, Thian remembered the case: it was about five years before when a man named Pastor and his wife were murdered in their flat near the Bois de Boulogne. He didn't personally follow that case so he actually didn't know they were his younger colleague's parents.

"The house was turned upside-down like Julie Corrençon's flat. That's why I reacted like that" he went on, before falling silent again.

"I'm sorry, gamin. If a similar situation occurs again I will deal with it alone if you…"

"No, I got used to it. It was just… very similar".

Then Thian asked the more unexpected question: "is that why you wear those handmade jumpers all the time?"

"Yes" Pastor whispered "my father knitted all of them".

Thain was wondering if there was something he could've done or said to make his young colleague feel better when Pastor talked again.

"They were tortured to death" he said softly. Even if the voice was calm and collected Thian could percieve the pain in it.

"The robbery wasn't even the real problem. Just before his death my father was studying some rather strange hospitalizations that had happened in the previous months. He suspected that old and lonely people were sent to psichiatric hospitals so that someone could take their houses and sell them. He told me he had put the documents in his secretaire – but when I looked there after his death the papers were missing."

"Had your father found the responsible?"

"He supposed he had. I didn't even mention the story after the… after the murder, I couldn't have proved anything at the time" Pastor concluded.

"So you decided to find the murderer on your own." It wasn't a question.

"Yes" Pastor confessed.

"And you believe he's the same person we're after now" Thian deduced.

"Yes" the younger inspector answered with a hard note in his voice.

"You'll put your hands on that bastard this time, gamin, because" Van Thian said in a sweet and proud voice "because you are a great detective and you have a noble soul. I have no doubt that you will".

It was like when his father the Counsellor complimented him and Pastor felt both saddened and warmed up at the memory.

"Thank you" the younger man whispered.

"Never mind. And if there's something I can help you with just mention it" he added.

Pastor finally smiled "You already saved my life and took a bullet today, it's fair enough".

He couldn't feel completely relieved, though. He was worried for Thian: what if they tried to kill him again? Sure, Thian was quick with the gun and had an excellent aim but still he was in danger.

Pastor had come to feel a deep affection for his older colleague, who resembled so much his father, the Counsellor, who was at the same time caring and discreet, who always found the time to cheer him up with a joke. And even if Thian was cronically depressed, always longing for his late wife and taking medicines all the time, he obviously had a heart of gold worn on his sleeve.

Pastor smiled. Now he had just another reason to find the murderers. And he knew exactly where to start from.

**Well guys, this is over! If you want to know what happened before and what will happen next just reed the book: it's wonderful!**


End file.
